| Berenice IV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pharaoh | |
Queen of thePtolemaic Kingdom | |
| Reign | 58-55 BC withCleopatra VI/Cleopatra V (until 57 BC) |
| Predecessor | Ptolemy XII Auletes |
| Successor | Ptolemy XII Auletes |
| Consort | Seleucus VII Kybiosaktes Archelaus I of Comana |
| Father | Ptolemy XII Auletes |
| Mother | Cleopatra V of Egypt |
| Born | 77 BC Alexandria,Egypt |
| Died | 55 BC Alexandria, Egypt |
| Burial | Alexandria, Egypt |
| Dynasty | Ptolemaic dynasty |
Berenice IV Epiphaneia (Ancient Greek:Βερενίκη; 77–55 BC, born and died inAlexandria,Egypt) was ruling Ptolemaic queen and Hellenistic pharaoh of thePtolemaic kingdom. From 58 to 55 BC, Berenice IV ruled Egypt during the political exile of her fatherPtolemy XII Auletes toRome. It is unclear if she was co-ruler of Egypt with her motherCleopatra V or a possible sisterCleopatra VI from 58 to 57 BC, but became sole ruler in 57 BC. On the return of Ptolemy XII to Egypt withRoman military aid andan army led byAulus Gabinius, Berenice IV was overthrown and executed by her rival father, who later bequeathed his throne to his daughterCleopatra VII and sonPtolemy XIII as co-rulers.
Berenice was the daughter ofPtolemy XII Auletes andCleopatra V Tryphaena, and sister to three pharaohs -Cleopatra VII,Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator andPtolemy XIV - as well to princess and claimant to the Egyptian throne,Arsinoe IV.
In 59 BCJulius Caesar was one of theconsuls of Rome. It was believed that the annexation of Egypt was part of his own political programme, the excuse being that the king of Egypt,Ptolemy XII Auletes, wasillegitimate and had no right to rule. Ptolemy Auletes responded by buying Caesar's support at huge expense, and the Romans passed a law to recognise Ptolemy Auletes as legitimate king of Egypt. The treaty however said nothing about Cyprus, where another Ptolemy, the brother of Ptolemy Auletes, was king.[1]
In 58 BC theRomansannexed Cyprus, forcing thedeposed king and brother of Auletes into suicide. The loss of Cyprus, and the poor state of the Egyptian economy following the bribes to Caesar, triggered civil unrest in Ptolemy Auletes' capital Alexandria. Unable to quash the unrest on his own, Ptolemy Auletes went in 58 BC to Rome to ask formilitary support, leaving his family behind in Egypt. In his absence, the Alexandrines declared him deposed, and in his place nominated his daughter Berenice IV Epiphaneia and (according to the ancient historianPorphyry) "[Auletes'] eldest daughter"Cleopatra VI Tryphaena as joint monarchs. Some, though not all, modern historians believe Porphyry made an error here, and that Cleopatra VI Tryphaena was in fact Ptolemy XII Auletes' wife Cleopatra V Tryphaena.[2][3][4][5][6]
Unable to muster up immediate support fromthe Romans, Ptolemy Auletes was initially unable to take his kingdom back from the two queens. From 58 till the end of 57 he resided in Rome or at Pompey's villa in the Alban hills, busily working upon the senators by bribes or promises, and procuring the assassination of envoys sent from Alexandria to Rome; he then left Rome and went to Ephesus, and lived in the sacred precinct of Artemis. In the meantime Cleopatra Tryphaena is believed to have died in 57 B.C. of unknown causes, leaving the young Berenice sole queen in Alexandria.[7]
As a lone woman ruling Egypt, she was expected to marry and have a man as a co-regent. Her advisors first tried to arrange a marriage with two Seleucid princes, both descended fromPtolemy VIII. The first was a son ofCleopatra Selene of Syria: he died whilst negotiations were in progress. The second was a grandson ofTryphaena andAntiochus VIII Grypus called Philip (possiblyPhilip II Philoromaeus): he was forbidden by theRoman governor of SyriaAulus Gabinius to accept the invitation. The Alexandrines then, thirdly, arranged a marriage with a man called Seleucus, connected to the Seleucid royal house. He may have been another son of Cleopatra Selene of Syria, perhapsSeleucus VII Philometor; alternatively he may have been an illegitimate son of one of the Seleucid kings. When he arrived in Alexandria, the Alexandrines were shocked by his vulgar appearance and manners, and nicknamed him Kybiosaktes, "Salt-fish-monger". Berenice, after a few days of marriage, found she was unable to bear his coarseness and vulgarity, and felt that he could not command the respect of the populace: she had him strangled. The court then arranged a marriage with a Greek calledArchelaus. Archelaus had been appointed prince-pontiff at the temple of the Great Mother at Comana in Pontus byPompey, and claimed to be a son of KingMithridates VI of Pontus (and, if so, to be distantly related in blood to the Ptolemies).Strabo instead says his father wasArchelaus, one of the chief marshals of Mithridates VI in theFirst Mithridatic War[8] who defected to the Romans. At that time Archelaus was an associate of Aulus Gabinius, and had hoped to join with him on an expedition against the Parthians. Gabinius furthermore had become suspicious of Archelaus's associations with the Egyptians, and had him arrested. Persuaded though that Archelaus was no threat, and perhaps bribed, Gabinius voluntarily released him. In the winter 56‑55 Archelaus came to Egypt, married Berenice, and was given a title of king,[9][10][11] although he is not known to be mentioned in documents as his wife's formal co-ruler,[12] and it's presumed she never allowed him to become one.[13]
In the spring of 55 Ptolemy Auletes anda Roman force invaded Egypt. Berenice and Archelaus were defeated, and Archelaus died in battle. Ptolemy Auletes was installed once more as king in Alexandria by the Romans. One of Ptolemy Auletes' first acts after his restoration was to execute his daughter Berenice, for the crime of usurping his throne.[14][15] He would later bequeath his throne to two siblings of Berenice IV: Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII.[16]
Berenice IV Born: c. 77 BC Died: 55 BC | ||
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| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt 58 BC–55 BC withCleopatra VI | Succeeded by |
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